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Sic Semper Tyrannis

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Trench cave-in kills man in Kenosha

This is a terrible thing for a family to have to deal with, especially at this time of year.

A construction worker was trapped and killed today when a trench where he was working collapsed, authorities said.

The accident happened near Kenosha in the Town of Somers, where a new shopping center is being built. The man had been working with a private contracting crew laying sewer pipe.

The man was buried up to his waist about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Rescuers worked for two hours to free him before the trench gave way again, killing him, said Steve Krause, Somers fire chief.

My father was a pipeliner for many years, and if memory serves me OSHA has some very stringent guidelines for how trenches must be dug and graded. I'd be surprised if this one followed those guidelines to a T.